US Airways consolidated Dec. traffic rose 3.4%

MelodieWarner

US Airways Group Inc.'s
LCC, -2.03%
consolidated December traffic rose 3.4% from a year earlier.

The airline's load factor, or percentage of seats filled, rose to 81.4% from 80.4% a year ago, while capacity increased 2%.

The airline had reduced capacity in recent months to keep costs in check. US Airways reported in October its quarterly profit fell 68% because of a big jump in fuel expenses, although the company said its fare increases and ancillary revenue like baggage fees helped to mitigate the fuel-cost increase.

Passenger revenue per available seat mile, a key profitability metric, increased about 11%.

The company said its preliminary December on-time performance was 87.8% with a completion rate of 99.5%.

Shares closed Wednesday at $5.03 and were inactive premarket. The stock has fallen 2.7% over the past three months.

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